Hillary stumping for Barack

I was ever-so-pleased to be asked by the Genesee County Barack Obama campaign to give the opening Invocation tonight at Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's appearance in Flint. The gymnasium at Carman-Ainsworth High School was packed, and Senator Clinton was at the top of her game--sharp, funny, passionate, clear. The crowd loved her and loved her message.

After the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem, I asked that everyone hold someone's hand. "We're all in this together," I said.

Here's my prayer . . .

"O Thou whom no person at any time hath seen,

And yet who, in all the ages and places of the human story,

hath revealed yourself

in the hope of parents for their children

in the faith of all who care for our elders, for the infirm,

for the dispossessed and the abandoned,

and in the love that we know and we strive to share with others,

reveal yourself again to us.

"Be with us, divine presence, in our hearts, in our minds and in our actions

as we come together, a people in a blessed nation,

called to be each other's keepers,

and called to accept the challenge of democracy as our own.

"Let us believe in each other and in the common good.

Let us live into the promises of our nation

of equality, freedom and shared prosperity.

Let us consider wisely our selection of leaders

and the expectations we place upon them.

"O holy One, known in each house of worship, in all holy words,

in deeds of righteousness and mercy,

and in the beauty of this created world;

be with us and our nation in the weeks and days before us

  and even in this very moment.

Bless us and our nation that we might be a blessing to this word.

"By every holy name we pray, Amen."

10 Years, and counting

My church marked the 10th Anniversary of my ordination a couple of weeks ago. I was especially pleased that we invited Dean Stevens to come from Boston to present a concert. Dean invited two young musicians, Chloe and Chris, from Milan, Michigan to share in the concert. And then Dean stayed over to perform at our Sunday morning service.

The weekend of his visit was one of the rainiest we've had, and Dean made the choice not to drive to Grand Rapids and Indiana to visit family and friends, but rather to stay at my home, to practice and read and stare out the window.

One great gift Dean gave me was the observation that I live in a beautiful home. He shared that he could see the rooms where work was still being done, the rooms where work hasn't even started, and the mismatched furniture. Still, what a grand yard! What a relaxing library! What joy to have a pretty good piano in the living room! What a place to put your feet up and enjoy a book!

Of course, what he says is true. I don't look at my place and see its charm. Rather I'm weighed down by its expense, I'm sometimes immobilized by the thought of its declining value, and I so wish that the _____ (kitchen, living room, bathroom, you fill in the blank) could be finished. Cheaply. Soon.

I purchased a beautiful glass mezuzah when I was in Fort Lauderdale for UUA General Assembly in June. I finally got it up on the doorpost. I know that I'm appropriating someone else's culture, but I think it is the resident culture of the home I am only beginning to be owned by, and I mean it to honor the Golden family, not to dishonor Judaism. It has two scrolls in it, one traditional Hebrew scroll and another with the UU principles. It pleases me.

  

My friend Jack came to visit, and gave me a hand in putting up new curtains in the living room and sun room. They're somewhat sheer linens with a simple silkscreened pattern that is very Scandinavian. I need to get some more attractive rods, and raised them 10 inches or so . . . but they make it feel, more and more, like it is my house.

My dear friend Elissa showed up this weekend and spent a day helping me get my recyclables to the recycling center. We put up another coat of faux Venetian plaster, in a less red color, and I am so pleased. With just a little more of a skim coat, a good dry, cure and burnishing, the kitchen will be ready to be declared "done," at least for my living. (For selling, some day, it will need to be neutered, beiged, toned down!) But I'm close, I'm close.

The furniture has largely been rearranged. I have a new bed (from IKEA) that I enjoy. I need to figure out the dining room. But hey, it is a beautiful house, a great place to relax, a wonderful place to live, a supportive place to be.